Wednesday, April 07, 2004

Paying the Price for the Dollar

CSM is running a column that dismisses the frequently cited causes for rising oil prices (conflict in the Middle East, swelling demand, etc), and pins the blame on the falling dollar values. The authors point out that while the price of oil in dollars has risen 51% in the past two years, the price has only risen 4% in euros. They further tie the fall in the dollar to ruinous government budget deficits. While the popular political ploy is to blame rising prices on the greed of OPEC nations, it clearly would be worthwhile to consider the impact of our own budget decisions.